The Prince and The Duchess visit Coventry

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall today were in Coventry to celebrate the beginning of their year as the UK City of Culture.

Coventry Cathedral portrays Coventry's identity as a City of Peace and Reconciliation. During today's visit, Their Royal Highnesses toured the Cathedral and celebrated the 59th anniversary of its consecration year.

At Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, The Prince and The Duchess saw a spectacular performance of 'Defying Gravity' by artists involved in the Coventry UK City of Culture. Following this, Their Royal Highnesses were taken to see the '2 Tone: Lives and Legacies' exhibition, which features fan and band memorabilia, documentary photography and even clothing worn by the groups.

As Royal Founding Patron of the British Asian Trust, The Prince of Wales then met local members of the Indian Community who have been fundraising for the charity’s Oxygen For India campaign, an emergency appeal in response to the Covid-19 crisis in India.

The next stop of the day was Bond’s Hospital Almshouses. As Patron of The Almshouse Association, The Prince joined celebrations for the Association’s 75th anniversary. Almshouses are a millennia old form of community housing for people in need. Almshouse charities own and manage over 30,000 almshouses in the UK, supporting approximately 36,000 residents.

Meanwhile, at Coventry Central Library, The Duchess launched launched ‘One Million Reads Coventry’, a challenge for library visitors to read one million books by 2022. Her Royal Highness met teenagers from Eden Girls School, who are involved in encouraging youngsters to use the library, and staff involved in ‘Reading Friends’, a project which helps to support older members of the community.

At Daimler Powerhouse, The Prince of Wales met artists who have created a ‘ship’ powered by tricycles! The ship is going to travel into communities reconnecting people to the ocean.

Having travelled by working heritage boat, The Prince later arrived at the Coventry Canal Basin, where His Royal Highness watched a performance by Highly Sprung, a physical theatre company, and Random String, an art collaborative who are working on a project with the Canal & River Trust to combine art and technology to deepen our engagement with the natural world.